3 March 2023
Friday of the First Week of Lent
Those of us of certain age would remember the admonition to attend Mass on First Friday. The devotion found its beginnings with the revelation to Margaret Mary Alacoque dealing with the nature of the heart of Christ. Certainly, there was no new expression of the deposit of faith in the devotion, rather a deepening of the awareness of God’s love for us through the Heart of Christ. The devotion received its first expression during the time when the followers of Jansenism placed greater limits on the Mercy of Christ. The Jesuit responded with their promotion of the devotion reminding the faithful that it is particularly for sinners that Christ came and died and that he holds a special place in his heart for those who seek a home in that same heart. Later, during the latter years of the 19th century, many in academia and saw materialism as the basis for human existence and any reference to God acting in society stood contrary to “the iron laws of nature.” Once again, the Sacred Heart came to the rescue with the devotion’s emphasis on the providential love of God which continues to act even in a world immersed in technology.
The Jesuits advanced the revelations of Mary Margarete who advised that going to Mass on First Friday, Friday being a recollection of the passion of Christ, may serve as just the nudge we need to remind us of God’s mercy and constant action in the world.